Thursday, December 09, 2004

Tool Tips for Entrepreneurs (or "that's soooo 2004...")

By way of Steve Shu I found Paul Allen's (of Infobase Ventures) nice little cheat sheet for entrepreneurs.  These are really Paul's proxies to ensure entrepreneurs seeking his ear have put some basics in place before contacting him.  But yes in general, they're excellent tips, and he encourages the use of some great new(ish) services.  I excerpt my favorite 4 here:

  • You must be using LinkedIn.com
    and have at least 10 connections and 2 endorsements. That way there
    is a good chance that I will know someone who knows you. It will be
    easier for us to gain mutual trust this way.


  • You must have an advisory board of 3 or more successful
    business people (preferably 6-10) who believe in you and are willing
    to meet with you monthly or bi-monthly to dispense advice and help you
    with your challenges.


  • If your company is at revenue stage, you must be using Quickbooks Online Edition
    so that I can review your financials with you as needed. This costs
    only $19.95 per month and gives 3 users access to your data. I need to
    see the real picture and not just hear about the big ideas.


  • If you do have publicly traded competitors, you must have a My Yahoo portfolio listing all their stock symbols, so you can stay current with their news and financial status.

Read them all!



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